Thank you. 
As I've said, I'm not out to prove anything. I don't feel I have to. All I wish for is that all deaf people grow up with the right to be understood. In my view, the only way that's going to happen is if ASL is a given for every deaf person.
As for the hearing, I can't change people. All I can do is, continue to be open to those whom I was fortunate enough to meet. By meeting them, it has given me an appreciation for what they've struggled with. This also didn't just start in the last couple of years. It began when I was in grade school and mainstreamed with other deaf students. That's where it began for me. I saw "their flying hands", and I wanted to know what they were talking about. I was a little nosy, I admit it 
, but we were kids.
Anyway, one of my friends was HoH. So, I asked her one day what she did with her hands. She said it was sign language (ASL). She offered to teach me some signs, and so it began. I was 12, I think? She was a little younger than me. But, we became friends and remain friends today.
I've also continued to meet other deafies as time as gone on. My next goal is to become fluent in ASL. I plan to do that by moving to an area that has a rich deaf community (we don't where I currently live). I will one day know the language inside and out, but until then, I will continue to make do. At least, I make the effort, which, is not something most hearing would do, sadly.
